On December 6th, the 2023 Time’s Person of the Year title was given to Taylor Swift at her young age of 33. Among the eight other finalists, Barbie, Trump prosecutors, King Charles III, Hollywood Strikers, Sam Altman, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Jerome Pow, Swift’s hard work, career and popularity persuaded Time to choose her. She has been all the hype with her Eras Tour movie in theaters and home, her Eras Tour continuing to travel the world, and her recent relationship with the football player, Travis Kelce. Taylor has also been progressing in her music career rerecording and publishing her stolen albums, grabbing more headlines and attention towards her and her work.

This is the second time Swift has been named Person of the Year. She won this title in 2017 as well for her more recent popularity and interest with her music. She was recognized as one of the Silence Breakers who inspired women to speak out about sexual misconduct along with her music. Swift has shown many accomplishments and made history with the title of Person of the Year. She is “the fourth individual selection who was born in the last 50 years… the first woman to be recognized more than once… [and] joins a small group of repeat designees, alongside several U.S. presidents and world leaders,” states Time magazine.

Formally known as Man of the Year until 1999, Time magazine tended to often choose global leaders and CEOs, positions long held by men. The title is “a way to capture the year through the individual, group, or concept that has had the most influence on the world in the previous 12 months—for good or ill,” Time shares. Between 1927 and 1999, only three other women had previously held the title. Time changed the title to gender neutral for more inclusion of others and to add groups of people into the works.

Time saw that “Taylor Swift found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light”. They also chose Swift for building a world of her own that made a place for so many, for spinning her story into a global legend, and for bringing joy to a society desperately in need of it. Time continued to describe Swift and her achievements in saying, “She mapped her journey and shared the results with the world: She committed to validating the dreams, feelings, and experiences of people, especially women, who felt overlooked and regularly underestimated.”